Stamp or label affixer



(No Model.)

W. B. SHAFER.

STAMP 0R LABEL AFFIXER.

Patented July 12, 1892.

Emma

WWI moo ea UNITE 1 STATES PATENT OFFICE.

STAMP OR LABEL AFFIXER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 478,764, dated July 12, 1892. Application filed December 22, 1891- Serial No. 415,901. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM B. SHAFER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Somerset, in the county of Somerset and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stamp or Label Afiixers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in a stamp or label affixer, and has for its object to provide a device which is simple and inexpensive in construction, effective in operation, and which will afford means to moisten an envelope or other surface on which a stamp or label is to be affixed and provide a receptacle for such stamps or labels at a point that will permit them to be successively aiiixed by a manipulation of the device, the stamp or label holder being capable of an individual delivery of imprints that are to be attached to surfaces and areten tion of a quantity in separated and cleanly condition.

My invention consists in the features and details of construction hereinafter described, and specifically pointed out in the claim. It is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front View in elevation; Fig. 2, a central vertical section taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a side elevation, and Fig. 4. a detail perspective view, of the stamp-receptacle.

In the drawings, A is the body of the instrument, preferably made in bottle form, of glass or other material, rectangular in crosssection, its upper portion provided with a neck a, a rim b, and a vertically-extending burnishing-rib 0, cast integral therewith.-

D is a sponge to contain the Water or other moistening substance, which projects a short distance above the rim 1), so as to readily engage the surface of a letter or envelope or any otherarticle which is to receive a stamp or label or that is gummed for adhesion to an adjacent surface, such as the flap of an en- Velope or'a self-sealing bag or parcel cover. Any other substance of capillary attraction may be used in place of the sponge.

E is a cap made of rubber or other suitable material, its top beiu g made preferably square to permit of its being easily removed. This cap is inserted into the neck of the bottle and covers the end of the sponge to prevent the escape of water therefrom.

Thelower portion of the body A is provided on opposite sides thereof with elongated depressions or slots F F.

G is a pad fixed to the bottom surface of bodyA, which acts as a cushion for the same.

B is a holder for stamps or labels, made of spring material, consisting of a rectangular shallow box open at its top and bottom and provided with concavo-convex lugs h it, pro jecting inwardly from the inner surface of the sides I I thereof.

7.; If) 70 it are triangular-shaped lips, which extend inwardly from the corners of the lower edges of the stamp-holder andat right angles to the body of the same for the purpose of retaining the stamps or labels therein when they are not required for use. These lips being placedin the cornerof the stamp-holder release the stamps more efficiently than if they were placed at any other point, as when the stamp is held by the corners they alone have to be disengaged, the body remaining intact, while if the stamp were held at any other point the body would be required to be bent in order to remove the same.

H II are the ends of the stamp-holder, the end H of which is split, as at O, to permit the same to be expanded sufficiently to enable the lugs h 7t to be slipped over the lower portion and enter and engage the slots F F of the body A, after which by its spring ac tion the stamp-holder will return to its normal position and prevent the removal of the same, except when it is desired to detach it to replenish the stamps or labels.

2' i are shallow indentations formed in the walls of the body to afford finger-holds for the operation.

In putting the stamp or label affixer into use the holder B is supplied with as many imprints as it will contain, it being understood that they are of such relative size as will cause their edges to loosely engage the inner surfaces of the four side Walls of the holder, so as to enable the lips k thereon to retain the paper, stamp, or labels therein, they having their gummed sides below, so as to be exposed one at a time as they are successively removed from the base of the holder.

The body A having been partially filled with water and the cap E replaced tightly over the sponge D and in the neck. of the bottle, the device is ready for service, the manipulation consisting in first moistening the place where a stamp or label is to be aflixed, then seating the holder upon the dampened surface with proper pressure, and when removed rubbing the face of the applied stamp or label with the burnishing-rib O, which will seal the edges of the stamp upon the surface that receives it and complete the operation of affixing the imprint in a neat, expeditious, and cleanly manner, avoiding contact of the gummed stamp or label with the tongue or fingers of the operator.

The device can also be utilized in the sealing of large numbers of letter-envelopes, as

WILLIAM B. SHAFER.

Witnesses:

R. F. HEOK, CHAS. W. BLAoKWooD. 

